Star Brigade: The Supremacy (SB3) (29 page)

“Because if you don’t let us pass,” Habraum continued, still unflustered, “how will your Defense Minister boss explain why TDF officers attacked two UComm officers?”

The lead Ttaunz soldier scoffed. “We have not even pulled a trigger.”

“He tried,” Marguliese nodded at the sobbing Ttaunz behind her, “hence his current state.”

“We have access to your archives,” Habraum dared with blunt menace, “which I’m sure detail more Farooqua torture.” The alarms finally stopped ringing, just as all that Ttaunz bravado deflated from these soldiers. “Try ‘taking us into custody,’” he concluded, “see how that ends up.”

Everyone knew UComm authority trumped planetary military. Therefore, the lead guard lowered his pulse stave. “Stand down,” he commanded his subordinates, who lowered their weapons.

Habraum nodded toward the Cybernarr. Her left eye flashed a jagged blue starburst, and the entry’s bluish tinge vanished. Habraum exited first, with Marguliese following. The soldiers stood motionless, clutching their staves and glaring at them in muted loathing. All the while, Mhir’ujiid watched the Cybernarr curiously.

“Yes, child?” Marguliese asked without making eye contact.

The Farooqua gulped. “You look like…a cyborg, but you don’t move like one.”

Habraum and Marguliese exchanged a glance. The Cybernarr, resembling a porcelain sculpture with golden skin, eyed the Farooqua so dispassionately that Mhir’ujiid grew fidgety. Once away from the Ttaunz, Marguliese spoke, “I am not from around here.”

Under less somber circumstances, Habraum would have laughed. Now, all he could offer was a grim half-smile. Mhir’ujiid looked utterly confused. She opened her mouth to inquire further.

“Enough,” Marguliese’s tone discouraged further dialogue, and they continued for the nearest translifter.

Habraum couldn’t think past his recklessness today, especially the unchecked violence in Mhir’ujiid’s defense
…
Rule-breaking was more Sam’s wheelhouse. But seeing the torture just triggered something ugly…

He turned to Marguliese. “How come…you didn’t stop me back there?” Habraum asked quietly.

For an instant, Marguliese’s impassive features softened. “That Ttaunz attacked you, and suffered the consequences.” Obviously she knew the
real
reason, having witnessed it years ago. But the Cybernarr had the decorum to say nothing. For that, Habraum was grateful. The trio remained silent through the rest of the translifter ride, all the way back to the
Phaeton
.

The lightning storms had finally subsided, but Liliana felt no safer than before.

For several orvs, military transports and local HazMat hover-vehicles briskly crisscrossed the air to clean up as much structural damage in the city-state as possible.

Attending to trauma victims took Lily’s mind off Thasque’s devastation and that other…strange occurrence where everything briefly paused except her and Captain Nwosu. She had seen something else, hovering at the edge of her memory—just out of reach. Could she explain that to anyone without sounding space-crazed?

Another welcome diversion was that Aesonite PLADECO medic, also assigned to help in downtown Thasque. The two quickly formed an easy rapport as he kept lobbing questions about her xenotrophin research while they worked. Liliana answered each one happily. Having her own fanboy was
weird
, but amusing.

Time flew, and soon the skies over Faroor’s largest city-state resembled a sea of dark-red velvet flecked by gleaming diamonds. By the time a UComm shuttlecraft picked her up to head for Magnasterium, Lily realized too late she didn’t even know the Aesonite’s name.

Onboard, Lily changed out of her grimy, blood-caked field uniform into a dark, long-sleeved tee and khaki cargos. A message from Solrao enroute to Magnasterium told her about the
Phaeton’s
location in Hangar Bay 7R.
Standing in a sea of floating mines would be more welcoming
, Lily fretted after arriving.

Several TDF soldiers, in head-to-toe dark-grey armor and sunburst helmets, encircled the Star Brigade cruiser on all sides. They all glowered her way, looking too eager to use the pulse rifles hefted atop their shoulders.

The doctor’s heart leaped into her throat.
What happened while I was gone?
On the outside, Lily looked straight ahead and continued what felt like a death march. Once near the
Phaeton’s
entry ramp, she messaged Solrao via wristcom. Soon a white light swept her away to safety.

Once inside the
Phaeton
’s familiar corridors, Lily’s relief was dizzying
.
As was hearing
Captain Nwosu’s voice booming from the nearby entry to
Phaeton’s
War Room. She strode quickly into a wide and rounded room with a hefty table in the center, holoscreens flashing along the walls. All of CT-1 sat around the room. Captain Nwosu addressed the room at the table’s head in a dark-green, long-sleeved tee and black slacks. The other Brigadiers wore plain clothes, also.

Nwosu’s gaze landed on her from across the room. “Perfect timing,” he greeted. “Sit.”

All heads turned. Lily blinked. “Uhm—sure.” The attention and those intense eyes were staggering.

The Captain turned back to his audience, and her thoughts untangled.
How does he do that?
The doctor slid in next to Khrome and glanced around the room, spotting four unfamiliar beings.

The most obvious was a skinny Farooqua girl with a shortened green mohawk and shiny bug-like eyes seated next to Marguliese. The doctor then assessed the trio in the back.

By their fatigues they looked like PLADECO: a stern-faced Nnaxan, a bull-necked Nirandian with a snowy pelt and cloven hands, a granite-skinned Aesonite grinning at her...

Lily did a double take—the PLADECO medic from downtown Thasque, still in his grimy, bloodstained uniform. She wanly smiled back, feeling her skin prickle with goosebumps.
Why are they here
?

“…we have three officers from the 206
th
Combat Group of the PLADECO TerraTroopers, who will provide needed ground support. Sergeant Fiyan, Corporal Uyull, Specialist Byzlar.” Nwosu’s voice intruded on Lily’s musings. But it was never hard for her to get caught up in Nwosu’s speeches. The Captain was introducing the PLADECO officers, who exchanged quick greetings with the Star Brigadiers.

Byzlar,
Lily knew his last name now, at least.

Nwosu nodded at the Farooqua next to Marguliese. “Lastly, Mhir’ujiid, from the Quud tribe, was a prisoner of the Ttaunz. She knows the terrain and which tribes are backing the Ghebrekh.”

“Captain?” Khal inquired. “Why should we trust her?” Lily couldn’t help noticing how frowning barely dulled his beauty.

Nwosu clearly anticipated the question. “Because she has a vested interest in stopping the Ghebrekh.”

Liliana gave the Farooqua a long look, mainly the fading bruises on her thin body emphasizing recently healed wounds. The doctor shuddered, only imagining what had caused Mhir’ujiid’s injuries.

“Dead weight.” V’Korram eyed the Farooqua disdainfully. “Especially since she can’t speak—”

“Standard?” Mhir’ujiid answered, drawing stares. “I’m fluent, thank you.”

Liliana’s eyes widened at the nearly accented-less reply. Khal, equally surprised, covered his mouth and guffawed. Nwosu fought back a grin. Khrome, sophomoric as ever, pointed at V’Korram with a loud “HA!” Through his thick curtain of ginger hair, the Kintarian snarled something nasty under his breath.

Corporal Uyull, the Nirandian, gestured a cloven hand at the Farooqua. “She’s who you shattered a TDF soldier’s arm to spring out?” he asked in a deep, braying tenor.

Surprise rippled throughout both Star Brigade and PLADECO. Only Marguliese remained unmoved.

Captain Nwosu shrugged indifferently. “Not his
whole
arm.”

Liliana was lost. “
Huh
?” Would there be no end to today’s twists and turns?

“Well done, oh fearless one!” Khrome’s praise drew modest chuckles, except from Marguliese, of course.

“Khromulus,” Nwosu steered the conversation back on track. “In short, we’ll get no support from the Ttaunz Defense Force. But due to how Mhir’ujiid was treated, their absence is welcome.”

Nwosu turned to Khrome. “What about those skyquakes?”

The burly Thulican stood up. “Skyquakes and lightning in Thasque occurred after another energy incident on the opposite side of Faroor.” Khrome ran short, thick fingers over the table console. A floating reddish 3D image of Faroor appeared over the table’s center. Glowing white dots appeared on the globe, the brightest symbolizing Thasque in the western hemisphere far from the equator. A second dot appeared further north on the east.

“Halfway around the world,” Marguliese noted.

“South of the Jalphec Mountains,” Mhir’ujiid pointed at the holo-globe, “near Ajjadr territory. The Ghebrekh can appear anywhere in moments.” Lily could not take her eyes off this Farooqua with her Standard.

“Exactly.” Khrome nodded in agreement. “The original source was much less pronounced in energy output, so much so that I almost missed it altogether if I hadn’t been looking for certain exotic particles.”

“Any similar events?” asked V’Korram in his usual snarling delivery.

Khrome’s round eyes swept over the gathering. “Ever since Ghuj’aega and his posse showed up two years ago, there have been hundreds. Mainly minor skyquakes and occasional lightning storms, but getting stronger each time. The last one when Taorr was kidnapped,” he spoke as he glanced at Mhir’ujiid, “was almost as strong as the one in Thasque today, with a similar echo near Kurrey.”

Nwosu mulled over this data. “So along with the impact bombings, Ghuj’aega can control weather.”

Mhir’ujiid raised her hand to speak, opening her upturned mouth. “Those impact bombs are pressurized oxygen combined with liquid xephrite, creating the heatless explosion.”

V’Korram’s green-flecked eyes studied her. “There’s plenty of xephrite in the deserts near Faroor’s equator.”

“Besides the Suthron Wastelands, that is almost entirely Gajj territory,” Mhir’ujiid added.

“How do you know that if your tribe isn’t colluding with the Ghebrekh?” Khal asked accusingly.

Mhir’ujiid’s expression was brazen. “The Quud is Faroor’s largest and most powerful tribe, making us privy to everyone else’s goings-on. Besides, the Gajj have been bartering xephrite long before the Ghebrekh appeared.”

“The Ttaunz have no record of any Farooqua weapon that’s xephrite-powered,” Tyris muttered.

“Xephrite leaves no trace when detonated,” Mhir’ujiid said, her greenish mohawk jostling about.

Habraum nodded at Fiyan. “Forward that info to the PLADECO uppercrust. But not the TDF.” The Cerc bristled. “They’ll just fubber things up.”

The Nnaxan sergeant nodded in a terse, knowing fashion. “Understood.”

Tyris narrowed his eyes. “What about Ghuj’aega’s abilities?”

“They come from the Zenith Point,” Mhir’ujiid said, glancing boldly about the room, “this world’s unifying force representing the six elements of totality. Ghuj’aega and his Ghebrekh allege direct access to its power, which is why many believe the Zenith Point chose him to correct the imbalance brought on by the Ttaunz.”

“Six elements of totality,” Corporal Uyull snorted horse-like. “Our mission’s based on Farooqua fairytales?”

The Farooqua’s blunt features hardened. “That same arrogance allowed Korvenite slaves to nearly obliterate your capitalworld.” Khal let out a shocked gasp as silence fell over the room.

Uyull came boiling up to his feet. “
What
—” Thankfully, Fiyan and Byzlar yanked him back down.

“The extent of this Ghuj’aega’s powers is still unknown.” Captain Nwosu raised both hands in pacifying manner. “We discount
nothing
.”

“Makes sense to me,” Fiyan added with a fleeting scowl at her Nirandian corporal. “What exotic particles are you talking about, Lieutenant?” she asked Khrome.

Khrome looked decidedly itching to spill. “Spatial and temporal energy particles.”

Lily’s throat was dry. She glanced at Nwosu. The Cerc’s face a focused mask, hazel-gold eyes fixed on Khrome.

“As in time/space?” Tyris scoffed. “Like old-fashioned science fiction?”

Lily eyed him quizzically. “Ty, our HQ is a starbase floating inside a gas giant.”

The Tanoeen shrugged. “So?”

Khrome addressed Tyris and Lily, “Temporal and spatial particles do exist. This is the first time I’ve seen them occur naturally. Incredible…” Khrome scanned the globe with single-minded interest.

“Khrome,” Captain Nwosu said patiently, drawing the Thulican’s attention back on track.

As if broken from a trance, Khrome continued, “Anyway, these skyquakes, and the places the Ghebrekh appeared, leave spatial markers—hollow points—all over Faroor.”

Marguliese scrutinized the globe with an arched eyebrow. “The use of spatial energy would accurately explain how the Ghebrekh can traverse all over Faroor with such alacrity.”

Khrome nodded, annoyed at having to agree with her. “Exactly. Because of what nearly happened in Thasque with the starliner, we’ll hunt the Ghebrekh via ground transport. I can augment a long-range transmat system to detect exotic particles produced whenever the Ghebrekh or Ghuj’aega does whatever they do, then sync our hovervehicle to that location and transmat there.”

“Okay.” Khal leaned back, looking impressed. “But the
Phaeton’s
hovervehicles can fit four at a time, and we only brought two.”

Nwosu nodded at Sergeant Fiyan. “We’ll use a PLADECO armored vehicle instead.”

“Our transport fits roughly fifteen bodies, reaches over three hundred miles per orv, and carries hundreds of armaments, all with cloaking,” Fiyan mentioned proudly, her braided craniowhisks rippling. She gestured to Khrome with her lower two arms. “Lt. Threedwok can modify the hovercraft with whatever Star Brigade needs.”

“And I will work with him to bolster the weapons array,” Tyris added helpfully.

Nwosu nodded and turned to Khal. “Lt. Al Abdullah, what do you got?”

Khal cleared his throat. “The starliner Khrome caught had 750 travelers, but only 664 came off.”